Holo Seas // Galaxy Swirls & Mermaid Scales

Oh man, these are the types of nails where I took about a thousand photos and it was so hard to choose under 10. Like most of my nail designs I had no idea where this was going, just that I wanted to do some mermaid scale nails. I ended up with galaxy mermaid nails! Score!

I started off with a white base coat and then applied some blobs of Crystal Blue and Pink Luxe to a silicone mat (these ones are from my born pretty post here). Then when they were still wet I gently pressed my stamper into them and then applied them to my nails.

This was pretty random but I loved how in some places it's super opaque and others translucent. I also love how this stamping technique brought out the duochrome properties of the polishes. Crystal Blue shines sea green in some lights and this application really brought it out.

Then using the BP-109 plate I stamped on the mermaid scales. I added a layer of the diamond top coat before adding Diamond Glitter as it caused the scales to drag. The following photos were all taken in natural daylight whereas the ones above are all indoors under two light boxes.

I want to wear this design every. Single. Day. And the best part is that after you've done one hand the next is easy! Just carefully peel the blobs off the silicone mat and stick them to your other with a layer of top coat. Or I've found another great use for them. Because they haven't been applied on top of a top coat they can break easily into shards; however custom galaxy mermaid flakies....I may have to do a post on this because it's genius.

Polishes/Tools Used:
- Essie // Blanc (pink)
- Barry M Molten Metal // Crystal Blue (ocean blue shimmer with green shift)

- Barry M Molten Metal // Pink Luxe (dark pink shimmer with gold shift)
- Barry M  // Diamond Glitter (scattered holo with silver glitter)
- Born Pretty Stamping Polish //#4 (white)
- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat
- Born Pretty // BP-109 Plate

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms // Birchbox November 2018 Beauty Box Nails

Another month, another Birchbox nail post! This months Birchbox is in collaboration with the new Disney film; The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Personally I'm not interested in the film in the slightest (it's not really my thing) but I am super interested in the OPI collab...so much so that I asked mum to get me the Advent calendar for my birthday (which was last month). The Advent calendar is now patiently sitting there waiting to be opened and I've seen the colours...I can't wait.

But onto the box. It's a stunning box again and perhaps my most challenging nail design to date. This one took me a while and it actually turned out much better than I was expecting. The box contents are not as exciting but I've got some new cuticle cream to try out as well as a night cream and primer so it's not completely awful. 

With the nails though, I started out with a white base coat then sponged on an ombre of Boundless Berry, Raspberry and Sweet Escape. The colours weren't a complete match to the box but overall it doesn't look too off.

After a layer of quick dry top coat I added a chain link stamp design using One Heckla of a Colour and the BP-109 plate. This turned out perfect and I can't believe I had a stamping design similar to the one on the box. It's missing all the acorns and keys however I think it would of made the design too busy.

I then added the gold detail. The detail on my middle finger is from the Geek 05 plate, the stars are Scandi 10 and the bars at the bottom and the top are Harunouta L010. I was going to mattify everything before the gold detail but I'm glad I left it shiny.

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Essie // Blanc (white) (base coat)
- NYC New York Color // Boundless Berry (deep plum)
- Barry M Nail Paint //Raspberry (raspberry....)
- Morgan Taylor // Sweet Escape (bright orange/red)
- OPI Infinite Shine // One Heckla of a Colour (lilac)
- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #1 (gold)
- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- Revlon // Colorstay Diamond Top Coat
- Born Pretty // Stamping Plate BP-109
- Harunouta // Stamping Plate L010
- MoYou London // Geek Plate 05
- MoYou London // Scandi Plate 10

Five Hand Creams #1 // Transformulas, Treacle Moon, Dr Organic, Natura Brasil & Kiehl's

Welcome to another new segment of the blog! I go through hand cream like water so I thought I'd document my experience with all the different ones I try out. I'm subscribed to a ridiculous amount of beauty boxes as well and I receive at least 1 every month through them so, when one is empty or close to empty I'll be lumping them all together for a "Five Hand Creams" post. Kind of like how Markiplier now does videos called "3 scary games". Lets get into them shall we?

Transformulas // Youthful Hands & Feet (75ml - £18.16)

I chose this as one my items for my Latest In Beauty subscription a few months ago and as you can see it's taken a beating. This is expensive for a hand cream and I'm kind of miffed at just how tatty the packaging has become. Clearly it's made on the cheap. It leaves your hand covered in silver glitter which would be great if I was coachella, but I'm not. I'm at work....The cream itself has this weird sweet chemically/sweaty foot smell which isn't completely unpleasant but it's not great. It's said to be an "invisible glove" and it coats the skin but leaves it feeling dry yet moisturised. It's really weird and I'm not sure if my hands are actually dry or that's just the hand cream. It's about to run out and I won't be running out to re-purchase it.

Treacle Moon // My Coconut Island Hand & Nail Balm (75ml - £2) 

On the much cheaper end of the spectrum is this hand cream from Treacle Moon. Not only is the name adorable but the product is as well. This one I received way back in May as part of a now discontinued beauty box called With Love Beauty Box. It was my first experience with the brand but I've since purchased two more of them in the Marshmallow and Raspberry flavours. This one is light with gently coconut scent that won't assault your senses. It's more of a lotion than a cream that doesn't intensely moisturise but it feels nice. Nice enough that I keep re-purchasing (the price helps as well).

Dr. Organic // Snail Gel Hand & Nail Elixir (50ml - £16.49)

Another cream I chose in last months Latest In Beauty box because it sounded very different from other hand creams I've tried but I don't think this is a hand cream. The best way I can describe it, is as a serum but for your hands, so something you would apply before hand cream for extra moisture. It comes in a very handy pump bottle which is something I've never seen on a hand cream before and I think all hand creams should come like this in the future. It also has a beautiful and sharp lemongrass scent which offsets your expectations of some horrible snail mucus. It does come out of the pump looking a bit....ahem suspicious as it's very liquidy and milky white.....but it absorbs quickly without a hint of greasiness. It's a nice product and suitable for vegans and I'm kind of on the shelf if I would purchase it. If I see it on offer in Holland & Barrett, I will though, I just don't think it's worth £17. 

Natura Brasil // Ecos Cacau Creamy Hand Balm (75g - £13.70) (40g sample shown)

Another beauty box find. This one was from the Work It special edition from Birchbox a couple of months ago. I've never heard of this brand but it has one of those immensely fiddly screw tops which takes an age to get back on properly. At least it's in a tube where you can squeeze out every last drop easily. This is a wonderfully thick butter style cream it's just a shame about the scent. It's quite bitter and floral; not my tastes but it does leave my hands feeling soft. This is currently my bedside hand cream so it doesn't get used as much as others but I can't wait till runs out so I can replace it with something that smells nicer. 

Kiehl's // Ultimate Strength Hand Salve (75g - £15)

The only one out of this selection that I actually purchased. I bought this way back in March after trying a sample from the Feel Unique Pick 'n' Mix. I honestly really love this hand cream and it's one of the few that I will willingly re-purchase. It has a lovely peppermint scent to it and is a thick consistency that's not quite a butter but not a cream. It leaves my hands feeling coated and satisfied and you can buy a huge 150ml version for just £4 more on Feel Unique. It's an expensive hand cream but one that I feel is worth the money.

Have you got any to recommend? Or any you detest? Let me (and others) know below!

*none of the links in this post are affiliated, just ones I found off google

Halo Nights // Pink & Nude Wanderlust Design

When I first did this I really loved it and couldn't wait to take pictures and show it off. Life happened and I couldn't get posts up as fast as I wanted and now when I look at the pictures I just think meh. It was kind of rushed because I really wanted to use the shades in something but I didn't know what. Also, the edges are really messy and clean up just couldn't fix it.

I'm really into that sheer pink glossy look  that you can get from gel nails right now and these new halo shades from Avon really fit that bill. I ended up doing 5 layers of sponging to get this ombre look of  Halo Rose & Halo White where it was opaque enough to see the different shades but still transparent enough to see the nail tip slightly...if that made any sense.

I think on it's own this would have looked nice however, I applied the liquid latex too close to the nail and when I was removing it it tore up the sides of the nails and there was no saving it. I've just invested in some MoYou liquid latex which was put in their sale for £3.50 so I'm hoping that will be a little better than the £1 Born Pretty one I bought of Wish.

I ended up stamping some gold stars and a moon from the new Tropical 36 plate. I love the wanderlust design but depending on the polish, the thin writing doesn't pick up easily. I would use this again though as the moon reminds me Sailor Moon. Born Pretty actually do a Sailor Moon plate though and I just want to throw my money at them.

Look out for a full swatch post though on these Halo nude shades as I bought the entire range from Avon; I just don't have the time to fully swatch them right now.   

              

Polishes/Tools Used:
- Avon True Nail Wear Pro+ // Halo Rose (pearlescent rose pink)

- Avon True Nail Wear Pro+ // Halo White (pearlescent white pink)
- Morgan Taylor // Sweetest Thing (rose gold holo glitter)
- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #1 (gold)
- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- MoYou London // Tropical 36 Plate

EDIT 07/02/2019
I've finally got round to swatching the entire Halo collection now and you can check it out here:
->Avon Halo Collection

SWATCHES: A England // Katherine of Aragon & Katherine Parr

Oh my godddddd, I'm in love. I first heard of A England when browsing through very old Simply Nailogical blog posts and fell in love with the regal, holo-tastic shades. I started following them on instagram and lo and behold they do an offer of 2 polishes for £8 every month; which is great because these cost £11 a pop. 

Lasts months duo were Katherine of Aragon (I just want to say Aragorn...like every time) and Katherine Parr. They just arrived in the post (with free delivery, so £8 you, go check it out, it's a steal) and I've never wanted to slap some polish on my nails more.

I am gobsmacked by the performance of this polish. I thought KoA would be this sheer gold metallic number that would take several coats but no. In one coat this stuff is practically ready to go. And the holo shift; I can't even. 

This is my first time buying polish from an 'indie' brand. And by indie, I mean polishes that you can't get from the store. These are polishes though that don't need anything else; I would happily wear these shades on their own for a week. Which is a challenge for me as I like to change my polish pretty much daily. 

Onto the polishes though....

Katherine of Aragon // A England (10ml - £11)

Katherine of Aragon is a holographic antique champagne that I swear colour-shifts into a darker colour around the edges; although my eyes may be playing tricks on me. You really see the gold though when you sponge this shade; but you do lose a lot of the holo. It's definitely better brushed on however it takes about 5 years to dry, even with a quick dry top coat. When sponged though it dries within a minute.

In fact, I think that's the downfall of these polishes; they're beautiful but they take forever to dry. I ended up doing these swatches several times because they kept smudging or lifting off. However, due to the quality of the polish and that you can get full opacity in one coat it's not a deal breaker.

Katherine Parr // A England (10ml - £11)

On the website this is described as a "lapis lazuli blue scatter holo with a hint of lavender and a subtle pink blush" and whereas this is a stunning lapis lazuli shade it's hard to see the holo and almost impossible to the see pink. These swatches were taken under two daylight toned light boxes and a LED halogen lamp but I still couldn't capture the holo. In broad daylight it's hard to see as well. Not that I'm angry because the detail is still stunning and there's some holo in there but it's more subtle than KoA. For the most part it looks like a blue mixed with silver glitter.

Another one-coater and it's done but even with a quick dry top coat it takes hours to properly 'set'.

For November they have Camelot & Perceval which are nowhere near as stunning as these shades however I may have to add them to the cart because I really just want to build up my indie collection more. There are several shades on their website though that have me drooling; like Anne Cleves so after Christmas I may just have to shell out on some more A England.